AMD Compatible MB Chipset FAQ

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TheBluePill

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AMD Compatible MB Chipset FAQ


Please post the differences, functions and performance attributes of each AMD based mother board chipset. Please try to keep it simple enough so that folks not familiar with them will have a better understanding of each part.
Please add on as new chipsets are introduced.

Thanks
-TBP
 
For the sake of keeping this short, and because I imagine this will be more helpful to people buying socket 939 or AM2, I will include only the chipsets meant for those. Right now I am covering PCIe chipsets, and hybrid chipsets, but I will likely not include AGP chipsets because I really don't see anyone buying new AGP motherboards for anything other than repairs at this point. Though if the demand is there, I'll do those as well.

Chipset Comparison

nVidia

nForce 4 (For Athlon 64/X2/FX and AMD Sempron Socket 939 CPU's) Supports 4/2 SATA/PATA devices and sports no RAID functionality. This chipset is an ok overclocker, but generally is used on lower end boards not allowing much overclocking functionality. Additionally this chipset supports only 1 PCIe x16 slot.

nForce 4 Ultra (For Athlon 64/X2/FX and AMD Sempron Socket 939 CPU's)

nForce 4 SLi (For Athlon 64/X2/FX and AMD Sempron Socket 939 CPU's)

nForce 4 SLi x16 (For Athlon 64/X2/FX and AMD Sempron Socket 939 CPU's)

nForce Professional 2000 Series (For Opteron 1xx, 2xx, 8xx Socket 940 CPU's) This chipset is almost always paried as a 2200/2050 set of chips as well as the AMD 8131 or 8132 PCI-X tunnel chipsets for use with AMD's Opteron CPU's. This chipset is used for high end workstations and servers, and is otherwise identical to the nForce 4 SLi chipset supporting NVRAID with the same feature set and SATA device capabilities as the nForce 4 Ultra and SLi chipsets. When combined with the 2050 chipset additional PCIe lanes are added that can be for dual x16 PCIe slots or additional PCIe x1 and x4 slots. This chipset also has dual nVidia LAN adapters, which offer decent performance for an onboard solution. This chipset is stable, full featured for the time and any board using it will likely be on the expensive side.

nForce Professional 3000 Series (For Opteron 1xxx, 2xxx, 8xxx Socket F (LGA1207) CPU's) (Research pending)

nForce 550 (For Athlon 64 and Sempron Socket AM2 (940) CPUs) Supporting 4 SATA 3G and 2 PATA devices, NVRAID with Mediashield allowing additional RAID functionality, but lacks RAID 5 support and only supports 1 GigE Ethernet port. This chipset also only supports a single PCI-Express x16 slot and supports High Definition Audio. This chipset won't generally overclock as well as their bigger brothers, and is targetted at lower end and more mainstream PC's. A good chipset to be sure, but far from feature rich.

nForce 570 Ultra (For Athlon 64/X2/FX and Sempron Socket AM2 (940) CPUs) Supporting 6 SATA 3G and 2 PATA devices, NVRAID with Mediashield allowing additional RAID functionality, and dual GigE Ethernet support. This chipset also only supports a single PCI-Express x16 slot and supports High Definition Audio. This chipset is a mid range chipset and therefore not intended for SLi use. It overclocks decently, but runs a bit on the hot side.

nForce 570 SLi (For Athlon 64/X2/FX and Sempron Socket AM2 (940) CPUs) Supporting 6 SATA 3G and 2 PATA devices, NVRAID with Mediashield allowing additional RAID functionality, and dual GigE Ethernet support. This chipset also supports dual x8 PCI-Express operation for SLi and supports High Definition Audio. This chipset runs fairly hot, but is not overly difficult to cool, and overclocks decently. This is a great chipset, and there is little in the way of compelling reasons to go to the more expensive 590SLI chipset.

nForce 590 SLi (For Athlon 64/X2/FX and Sempron Socket AM2 (940) CPUs) This is the ultimate nVidia chipset for the AM2 Athlon. Supporting 6 SATA 3G and 2 PATA devices, NVRAID with Mediashield allowing additional RAID functionality, nVidia Linkboost technology which boosts performance with nVidia graphics cards, SLi Ready Memory (EPP functionality) and dual GigE Ethernet support. This chipset also supports dual x16 PCI-Express operation for SLi and supports High Definition Audio. This chipset runs fairly hot, but is not overly difficult to cool, and overclocks very well for an AMD compatible chipset. The EPP feature is nice if you are willing to spend the money on the higher end memory modules, and the performance is better than the 570SLI chipset based boards, but the cost is extreme for an AMD compatible chipset.

ATi

ATi Xpress 200 (For Athlon 64/X2/FX and Sempron Socket 939 CPU's) This chipset supports DDR 1 memory, and ATi's Crossfire technology. This chipset lacks the needed PCIe lanes for dual x16 operation and is almost always paired with the generally lame SB500 south bridge or the superior ULi south bridge. This chipset is actually a value chipset and while lacking in features some motherboard manufacturers have integrated it into relatively high end motherboards with some success. The overclockability of this chipset is outstanding and generates little heat and can be effectively passively cooled for stock and overclocked applications.

ATi Xpress 3200 (For Athlon 64/X2/FX and Sempron Socket 939 or AM2 (940) CPUs) This chipset supports DDR 1 and DDR 2 memory modules, but motherboard vendors have to make an either or kind of choice with it. This chipset also supports ATi's Crossfire technology, as well as dual x16 PCIe slots. This chipset is an excellent overclocker, and generally speaking, matches the performance and stability of its' nVidia counterparts. This chipset is also capable of being cooled passively for stock and overclocked applications. This is something nVidia is having a hard time with as their chipsets seem to get much hotter every generation.

AMD 770X: Same as 790X however 1 PCIe 2.0 16x slot

AMD 790X: 790FX features without dual CPU support and 2 x PCIe 2.0 16x

AMD 790FX (For Athlon 64/X2/FX/Sempron and Phenom AM2/AM2+ compatible processors. This chipset supports DDR2 memory and PCIe 2.0, HT3, split voltage planes, Auto-Express (boost performance when using AMD/ATI video cards, and read enhanced memory information for faster memory performance like nVidia's EPP stuff), 4 x PCIe 2.0 16x, and dual CPUs. This chipset supports ATI/AMD's CrossfireX technology allowing up to four GPUs to work together for increased performance. The chipset itself is for the most part and excellent evolution in AMD chipsets. Unfortunately at present the 790FX north bridge is still paired with the ancient ATI SB600 which was lacking in features at the time of its' release. The 790FX chipset runs extremely cool and has very low power usage making it an ideal chipset for use in enthusiast and media center applications. This chipset is still largely new and board's equipped with this chipset are somewhat hard to come by at present.

ATi branded chipsets before the Xpress 3200 will most often will be paired with a ULi southbridge. The most modern boards will use ATi's SB600 south bridge which was released about two years ago.

SB500 This south bridge only supports SATA 150 and the USB performance is pathetic to say the least. Few motherboards were built around this horrid chip, and generally speaking you should avoid boards that integrate this aweful and already dated (at the time of release) south bridge.

SB600 Supports 4 SATA and 2 PATA devices, 8 USB ports, and RAID0,1 and 5 with JBOD spanning. This south bridge is decent, and the performance is where it should be, but the speed actually doesn't quite match the ULi southbridge on many Xpress 200 boards, and the feature set lags far behind nVidia's and is really only equivalent to the nForce 4 MCP's. Performance is better than that of the SB500, but overall performance still lags behind Intel's ICHx series southbridges.

SB700 supposedly supports PCIe 2.0 and includes a more competitive set of features and with any good fortune, superior performance than that of the SB600.

ALi/ULi

ULi

SIS
 
Like in the Intel thread, I'll try and finish this stuff tonight when I get home.
 
According to your list (and the mobo user guide), my A8N32-SLi w/ nForce4 SLI x16 will not support an Opteron cpu...please tell me this is not correct.

Thank you.
 
Bloodgod42 said:
According to your list (and the mobo user guide), my A8N32-SLi w/ nForce4 SLI x16 will not support an Opteron cpu...please tell me this is not correct.

Thank you.
Click to expand...

It will not support a Socket 940 Opteron, but Socket 939 Opterons are another matter. All that is required to support those is a BIOS update.
 
Great info Dan_D, I was curious if you had any info on the SB450 chipset. I just recently bought a DFI RS482 mATX mobo for my HTPC and was curious. From the sounds of it, I will not have to worry about cooling, but I was curious on how well the onboard video would work with HTPC. I bought this one since I dont deal alot with mATX and I liked the fact it had built in DVI.
 
Occidio said:
Great info Dan_D, I was curious if you had any info on the SB450 chipset. I just recently bought a DFI RS482 mATX mobo for my HTPC and was curious. From the sounds of it, I will not have to worry about cooling, but I was curious on how well the onboard video would work with HTPC. I bought this one since I dont deal alot with mATX and I liked the fact it had built in DVI.
Click to expand...

Actually I don't. I've never worked with any boards using that chipset. As for onboard video, it depends on it's capabilities. As long as you don't need anything heavy on the 3D side, you should be ok. Though you may not get all the features you might want for connecting your PC to your TV.
 
After getting the Mobo installed last night and dialing in my HDTV, I have found that I really like this mobo/integrated video setup. I was able to make a custom HD resolution right in the ATI catalyst control panel without using powerstrip and it looks beautiful. I havent had any issues with performance of the chipset and its nice to not have to add a card in for added heat.
 
I'm currently running a A64 4000+ in a DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 SLI-DR Expert mobo.
As the FX60's and FX57's are rapidly drying up and are now overpriced if available,
I'm thinking about dropping a Opteron 185 Denmark 2.6GHz Socket 939 Dual Core Processor into my mobo as they are still available and reasonably priced.

I am currently running BIOS version NF4ED406 dated 4/6/06 (which is the latest official BIOS available).

What could I expect, some compatibility problems or would the CPU not work at all?
 
Dan_D said:
This chipset also supports dual x8 PCI-Express operation for SLi and supports High Definition Audio.
Click to expand...

For the nForce 570 SLi you wrote dual x8 PCI-Express. How is this different from the dual x16 PCI-Express? I'm wondering because I'm about to buy an nForce 570 SLi motherboard.
 
silentnswift said:
For the nForce 570 SLi you wrote dual x8 PCI-Express. How is this different from the dual x16 PCI-Express? I'm wondering because I'm about to buy an nForce 570 SLi motherboard.
Click to expand...

It means less bandwidth available for each PCIe x16 slot. Basically the first slot is a true x16 slot, and the second slot is typically an x4 or x1 but it's physically shaped like a x16 slot. When SLI mode is enabled both slots operate with only x8 lanes of bandwidth.
 
Dan_D said:
It means less bandwidth available for each PCIe x16 slot. Basically the first slot is a true x16 slot, and the second slot is typically an x4 or x1 but it's physically shaped like a x16 slot. When SLI mode is enabled both slots operate with only x8 lanes of bandwidth.
Click to expand...

Does it provide a noticeable slower SLI mode? If it doesn't, then I probably will still get the nForce 570 motherboard.
 
silentnswift said:
Does it provide a noticeable slower SLI mode? If it doesn't, then I probably will still get the nForce 570 motherboard.
Click to expand...

Not really. Supposedly it only really matters with the 8800GTX's and 8800Ultra cards.
 
Updated chipset Faq with AMD's 790FX chipset. I will add more information here in the next few days.
 
Regarding the nForce 500 series;
1. Any other comment on these chipsets that run "hot"?
2. Does that apply to all of the 500 series, or just to the 550, 570 & the 590?
 
videobruce said:
Regarding the nForce 500 series;
1. Any other comment on these chipsets that run "hot"?
2. Does that apply to all of the 500 series, or just to the 550, 570 & the 590?
Click to expand...

All NVIDIA chipsets run hot. From nForce 4 to nForce 500 and 600 series.
 
Does the 790FX chipset really only support PCI-E 1.0? I thought it supported PCI-E 2.0.
 
The 690 chipsets aren't bad from AMD.

690G supports DVI, VGA, and HDMI. They support HD Audio (typically paired with SB600), some can OC very good and I don't think get too hot. Performance is pretty good, and [H] reviewed a board based on it from Giga-byte (and they felt that it was pretty good as well).

Also there were some errors:
790FX supports PCIe 2.0, HT3, split voltage planes, Auto-Express (boost performance when using AMD/ATI video cards, and read enhanced memory information for faster memory performance like nVidia's EPP stuff), 4 x PCIe 2.0 16x, and dual CPUs.

Add: 790X (790FX features without dual CPU support and 2 x PCIe 2.0 16x) and 770X (same as 790X however 1 PCIe 2.0 16x slot)

nForce4 series supported Raid and SATA-II (3GB/s), and obviously the SLi and SLi 16x supported more than one PCIe 16x slot (granted the regular SLi chipset split it into 2 x 8x slots when activated).

nVidia 5 series 570 & up chipsets also support ethernet teaming, hardware firewall, and first packet technology (reduced latency for certain applications / games etc.),
 
Myrandex said:
The 690 chipsets aren't bad from AMD.

690G supports DVI, VGA, and HDMI. They support HD Audio (typically paired with SB600), some can OC very good and I don't think get too hot. Performance is pretty good, and [H] reviewed a board based on it from Giga-byte (and they felt that it was pretty good as well).

Also there were some errors:
790FX supports PCIe 2.0, HT3, split voltage planes, Auto-Express (boost performance when using AMD/ATI video cards, and read enhanced memory information for faster memory performance like nVidia's EPP stuff), 4 x PCIe 2.0 16x, and dual CPUs.

Add: 790X (790FX features without dual CPU support and 2 x PCIe 2.0 16x) and 770X (same as 790X however 1 PCIe 2.0 16x slot)

nForce4 series supported Raid and SATA-II (3GB/s), and obviously the SLi and SLi 16x supported more than one PCIe 16x slot (granted the regular SLi chipset split it into 2 x 8x slots when activated).

nVidia 5 series 570 & up chipsets also support ethernet teaming, hardware firewall, and first packet technology (reduced latency for certain applications / games etc.),
Click to expand...

Thanks. I haven't been keeping up with these lately. I've added some of what you listed above. Some of the information I'm verifying just to be accurate. But most of it has been added now. I haven't gone back and done nForce 4 due to lack of relavence in today's market. I will though.
 
Dan_D said:
Thanks. I haven't been keeping up with these lately. I've added some of what you listed above. Some of the information I'm verifying just to be accurate. But most of it has been added now. I haven't gone back and done nForce 4 due to lack of relavence in today's market. I will though.
Click to expand...

Not to get off topic, but it looks like we lost our Tack for the Intel MB Chipset Discussion in that forum, any way to track down the thread and re-tack it?

Also, What does Crossfire-X do?
 
Dan:
690V is a value IGP solution, which doesn't overclock that well.
690G is fully-featured, supporting 1080p with a 2GHz X2 or higher. It overclocks very well, and doesn't run hot at all- case airflow does the job. RAID is supported, as is HD Audio. Onboard networking is very good, USB is average. It is excellent for multi-monitor uses, as SurroundView lets you keep the onboard video enabled (with no penalty) when used in conjunction with any Radeon.
It also supports Crossfire (x16/x4), motherboard permitting. See Gigabyte's MA69G-S3H for reference: its open-ended x4 slot accepts full-length video cards.

TheBluePill:
CrossfireX is the name given to a three-or-more-card Crossfire solution.
 
Onboard networking on ATI chipsets is hit or miss because it doesn't have anything to do with the chipset. A company can put on a no name PCI high CPU hogging ethernet controller, or they can put on some high end Intel or Marvell PCIe ethernet controller and then it is among the best... There are rumors however that AMD is making a new southbridge with real integrated ethernet.
 
Myrandex said:
Onboard networking on ATI chipsets is hit or miss because it doesn't have anything to do with the chipset. A company can put on a no name PCI high CPU hogging ethernet controller, or they can put on some high end Intel or Marvell PCIe ethernet controller and then it is among the best... There are rumors however that AMD is making a new southbridge with real integrated ethernet.
Click to expand...

The rumor is that SB700 will be what SB600 should have been. However the SB600 was always supposed to be really awesome until it came out. It was sub-par or just par at best when it came out. It wasn't long before ICH8R and NVIDIA's newer south bridges over took it in features. Also the performance of the ATI south bridges has always been less than stellar. Since AMD now owns ATI we have a glimmer of hope that SB700 will be far better than its' predecessors and at least a comparable solution to what NVIDIA and Intel already have south bridge wise.
 
Any word on when we'll see the sb700 show up? hope we sill see some 790x/fx boards with that chip, have heard that it'll be on the rs780 and 790GX boards but that all sofar.
 
dawp said:
Any word on when we'll see the sb700 show up? hope we sill see some 790x/fx boards with that chip, have heard that it'll be on the rs780 and 790GX boards but that all sofar.
Click to expand...

Nope. I've yet to hear anything concerning SB700 at all.
 
I believe that once RS780 is shipping, companies will start incorporating SB7x0 chipsets in the 7xx chipset line across the board (or at least they will have the option to). Also SB600 is not terrible. Some of the older ones were (SB400...eww), however SB600 offers decent performance without putting off much heat. It wasn't a standout pushing the envelope chipset, but it wasn't awful.
 
Myrandex said:
I believe that once RS780 is shipping, companies will start incorporating SB7x0 chipsets in the 7xx chipset line across the board (or at least they will have the option to). Also SB600 is not terrible. Some of the older ones were (SB400...eww), however SB600 offers decent performance without putting off much heat. It wasn't a standout pushing the envelope chipset, but it wasn't awful.
Click to expand...

Actually it was SB500 before the SB600 and SB600 is pretty terrible compared to the south bridges made by Intel and NVIDIA in terms of features. SB600 does not compete well.
 
Well yea the SB500 was prior to the SB600...but so was the SB450 and the SB400...I was just saying that the SB400 was downright awful should never have been released due to its USB performance. And I have seen some HDD performance numbers from the SB600 that look quite nice
 
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